Bronco Volleyball Raises Over $3000 In "Dig For The Cure" And Sweeps LMU 3-0

Posted: Oct 20, 2007

Oct. 20, 2007

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Brittany Lowe's double-double and Krista Kelley's double-digit kills lifted the Santa Clara volleyball team to a 3-0 rout of Loyola Marymount Saturday afternoon at the Leavey Center. With the win, the Broncos overall record improved to 14-9, while their West Coast Conference record is now 6-1.

"The Pepperdine game on Thursday really gave us the confidence to grind out that first game today," said head coach Jon Wallace about the Broncos come from behind victory in game one. "They drew from the experience on Thursday and did a great job to win today's game. We are now looking towards Gonzaga and the players are excited to start preparing for that game."

Junior Lowe registered a match-high 17 kills and collected 11 digs to post her 10th double-double of the season. Outside hitter Kelley had another astounding performance Saturday with 14 kills and seven digs. Senior setter Crystal Matich dished out a match-high 50 assists and compiled a match-best .667 hitting percentage (6-0-9) and libero Caroline Walters recorded a match-high 13 digs.

The Lions took control early in the first game and compiled a quick seven-point lead, 11-4 on a kill from Christianna Reneau. The Broncos tried to tie the score on points from Nichole Clark, Kelley and Matich, but the Lions continued to hold the advantage. Yet, Lowe started a 6-0 run for the Broncos and three back-to-back kills from Kelley brought Santa Clara within one, 20-19. SCU knotted the score, 20-20, on a LMU attacking error and then tied it again, 21-21, off a strong kill from Clark. The Broncos racked on six straight points to push the score to 26-22, and eventually finished game one with a 30-25 victory.

Santa Clara did not give Loyola Marymount a chance to catch up in the second game as SCU pushed its way to a 7-1 start on points from Matich, Evans and Lowe. The Broncos continued to hold a solid edge over the Lions, and after reaching 20 points on a kill from Lowe, SCU never looked back as a block assist from Lauryn Dowd and Evans gave the Broncos a 30-22 win.

The Broncos once again gained a quick advantage, this time pushing their run to 9-1 on kills from Kelley, Evans, Lowe and Clark. Forced to take a timeout, the Lions returned from the short break to put back-to-back points on the board. Loyola Marymount continued to apply pressure on the Broncos and kept the score very close throughout the majority of the third game. However, Santa Clara was not going to give up that easily and an excellent rally kept alive on impressive saves from Walters and Evans put the Broncos up, 18-11. A successful attack from Lowe gave Santa Clara 20 points and a kill from Evans brought the Broncos to match point, 29-21. However, SCU was halted from ending the match for four more rallies, when a Lions setting error finally gave the Broncos a 30-24 triumph.

Saturday's contest was also the Broncos' "Dig for the Cure" fundraiser to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Although Santa Clara is still receiving donations for the cause, as of Saturday's game the team raised over $3,000.

"We are honored to be a part of the "Dig for the Cure" campaign," said Wallace. "I'm really proud of my team for taking this task seriously. They went out to the community to ask for help and they received such a great response."

Santa Clara returns to action against Gonzaga on Thursday, Oct. 25 in Spokane, Wash. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.